A/N In which Elrond is one of three EEG monitors in Middle-Earth.
Elrond pinched his nose as he stared out the window.
They had Elrohir in a private section of the ward, reserved mainly for the House of Elrond, and had placed the partly comatose elf on one of the larger beds to examine him, in case he had another fit. He would not fall onto the floor in that event, or not as easily.
Erestor and Glorfindel were standing next to each other in a corner. Their presence gave Elrond comfort, even if they were not going to do anything other except be there. Well, Elrond already knew he would need them to do something while they were here. Tathardes in the meantime was stroking Elrohir's head and face, who had not technically "woken" up from his earlier seizure.
That part ought to be concerning, but it was hard to tell, given Elrohir never once has been truly awake. Only when he started showing meaningful responses is when he would be awake.
Also present in the room was Belthamdir, an apprentice Elrond had trained many years ago, among others whom he also helped refine their skill. Belthamdir was a master concerning head and back injuries.
"Do we know if Elrohir's neck was damaged from the rocks?" Said healer asked.
"No," Glorfindel answered. "If it was so I am sure we would have known at the time."
Tathardes moved her hands away to allow Belthamdir to examine the younger twin's neck, turning and moving it gently. "A later manifestation is plausible. Pressure build up? But there is no swelling, not that I can tell, unless it is very small."
"Or inside his head." Elrond finally spoke up. "We cannot feel in places where we cannot reach."
All other open eyes in the room turned to their lord.
Elrond turned away from the window. "Where the skull joins the spine…or the space surrounding the brain."
"But the only way we can relieve that is…" Belthamdir hesitated, "…drilling holes into the skull."
Elrond was not comfortable with the thought of the procedure being applied to one of his children. He would not be doing it, he knew that for sure. He would not be able to do it without making an error. Were it someone else…then yes, he could do it.
"It is not something we can ignore to do, yes?" The lady asked.
The healer shook his head. "We could ignore it, but it would be too risky. If there is something transpiring, then it would continue to build up until it becomes too much or blood begins to flow freely…"
There was no need to mention the outcome.
Elrond approached the side of the bed, looking at Elrohir. Elrond studied his son carefully: from the frailty of his body, his withered leg that never received the exercise it needed after the bone had healed. And his fëa…
Elrond steeled himself and looked to the other two elf-lords in the corner, nodding to them and to Belthamdir. The three elf-men moved to keep Elrohir still by holding his arms and legs together. Tathardes removed herself to a corner and watched with a hand lifted to her mouth.
Elrond quietly gathered from Vilya its power, its ability to discern energy, auras, in the air. He carefully applied pressure to Elrohir's scalp, all the while detecting low waves of activity throughout his head.
When the elf-lord asked where his son was possibly hit from the rocks, he moved his hand towards the left side, near the back of the head. There he felt a small difference to the energy waves. They were still small, like the rest, but here, there were spikes; instability. Trying to settle back to a higher, normal level, or…
Elrohir's right arm began twitching and spasming when his sire palpated the area. The energy waves fluctuated greatly.
The other three elves continued their gentle holding; Erestor held down the arms. It was not a full-blown seizure that required them to back up. The only major thing that happened was when Elrohir's back arched off the bed before slamming back down and going limp again. Elrond removed his hand before then, but did not go back to resume his examination.
"Late manifestations." He affirmed to Belthamdir's earlier assumption.
Once it was affirmed Elrohir would not fit again the three moved away. A somber mood settled in that room. Even without saying anything they knew what came next.
Elrond showed Belthamdir where there was a place of concern and the elf-healer made a mental note of it.
"My lord, do you wish for this to be done elsewhere? Somewhere more private, so we would not need to transfer him far after…"
Elrond pondered this, looking to his friends in the other room. They held supportive looks; compassionate emotions.
"Move him to the family hall." Elrond said at last.
It was a separate building altogether. It was small, but not too small to feel crowded or cramped. The family wing in the main house could have worked as well, but Elrond wanted complete privacy. There would be no unnecessary disturbances, and when official matters must be dealt with, can go back to the main house without issue.
Belthamdir nodded, "I will gather a small assembly for the procedure. Later when all is quiet we can transport him to the hall and begin."
Elrond trusted the elf. He had done well in the past concerning most, if not all, his patients.
"On your way then…and thank you, mellon."
Belthamdir bowed and left the room. Elrond let out a sigh that he was holding and sat down, rubbing his forehead, trying to relieve his own stress.
Glorfindel looked at Erestor, who looked at the Vanya, then looked to Tathardes. She looked at her spouse with a sad frown.
Erestor motioned with his head towards the door. She nodded her head, understanding the message, and left. The two elf-lords approached their master.
"So much could go wrong, still can be wrong." Elrond murmured.
"We do not know until we get there." Erestor said.
Elrond held Elrohir's hand. "You will know how I feel if you ever plan on having children, Erestor. You cannot help but worry about the worst."
The laiquendë smirked. "If I wanted a child I believe I would have had one by now."
Glorfindel chimed in. "It is never too late when you have all the time in the world."
Erestor swatted the Vanya behind the head, returning to the current topic. "It could be worse, or it could be minor. What is good is that you caught the problem before it could be more of an issue. And that is all you can do for now." He paused, "Leave the rest in the All-father's hands."
Elrond gave a small nod. After a moment of silence, he asked the question. "Have you ever considered children, Erestor?"
The elf in question blinked. "…Forgive me for saying that…is none of your business."
"Oh," Glorfindel put his input in. "But if you ever do, then I will be outside the room when the elfling is to be delivered."
"Do I need to throw my pinecones at you again?"
Glorfindel backed off. "You keep hurting your little friends that way! Do they appreciate their maker having them pelt a random person all the time?"
Erestor grinned. "Oh, trust me, my dear Glorfindel, they love it."
Elrond let himself be amused by the banter and smiled, all the while continuing to hold Elrohir's hand. He felt one finger twitch, but this time it was not the prelude to a seizure.
Estel read.
It was not mind scarring literature this time. It was recorded, factual, non-scarring history of Númenor, and he was happy because a little while ago Dolmardo waddled herself in and sat by the window. She had been staring outside it for hours now; it might be due to the fact the big bird tree where many of the avian creatures sat perched was right outside the window.
Estel decided that animals are hard to understand, however, that just makes their antics that much more amusing.
The adolescent returned to his studies once Elladan said he was going to return to work, after they had sat beneath the Great Oak until noon. They ate and refreshed themselves, and got to their assigned tasks.
They had not heard back from their father yet.
Estel looked bored as he stared at all the names of the rulers of the island. The only ruler that had interested him was Elros, Elrond's brother and the first king of Númenor. This history book did not have much about him. As Estel slowly progressed through it, he learned that it was mostly a family-tree type of book.
Well, there is another hour or two wasted of his time.
Estel closed the book and thought about what he was going to tell his mother: 'Nana, in my studies I have learned that I have the worst luck any mortal child could have by their textbook selection; in which I learn absolutely nothing about what I am supposed to learn.' And about getting paid to look for books that shed no light on anything or to prevent future children from going through a soul trauma from bad reading.
And to make a note to Erestor to make sure he has more dogs in the future, so that said children could have a nice distraction from being bored to death by the impractical reading.
Estel closed the book and sighed; he slid out of his chair and sat next to the plump dog. He rubbed her ears and Dolmardo leaned into the touch. Brain itches in dogs can do that to a person.
Estel was busy with Dolmardo that he failed hearing the door open and someone walking in.
"I see my companion is making a wonderful teacher in my absence."
Estel turned his head and smiled, a small smile, towards Erestor. He recalled his earlier train of thought and became serious. "Yes…and what was suggested to me to read for my lesson was pointless and useless."
Erestor raised a brow at the man and looked to the abandoned desk. There was a hum. "Alright, then I will find something more practical for you. Although, in the meantime," he held out a paper.
Estel looked bewildered and he stood up. Approaching the scholar, he took the parchment.
Numbers.
No.
"Erestor…" The young man whined.
"Would you be more obliged to do it if I told you that is from your father's desk?"
Estel got to work immediately and without complaint.
While Estel worked Erestor checked on his pet, even opened the window for her so she could see the outside better. Would that she actually go outside, it would be even better. It is a battle in itself to get her into the outdoors.
When Estel finished, he was musing, "Master Erestor?"
"Yes, Estel?"
"…what becomes of Elrohir?"
Erestor did not answer immediately. He lost eye contact after a moment and moved on with whatever it was he was doing. "Your father will come see you soon to tell you. I believe he has gone to Elladan first and is still with him."
Estel said nothing to that answer, instead he just sat, and waited. Erestor left the library altogether, elusive elf he was in his ways. He does, and then goes to do again. It was confusing and unsettling sometimes. Estel had gotten the privilege once to see the elf emerge from the walls with no warning, scaring Glorfindel and the twins in the process.
Estel knew of Erestor's origins. Beleriand, born in a undiscernible point of time in the Eternal Night before the sun and moon arose. To Estel's understanding, the wood-elves to the east were of similar origins, and perhaps culture. The adolescent took to thought to make his own visit in the future, to see if there are similarities between the laiquendi and the silvan.
One problem with that plan, however, is the laiquendi have all but gone at this point, likely having intermingled with other elves…
Estel heard the door open again, not too surprised to see Elrond enter, but surprised to see Elladan with him. The adolescent stood up before them.
"Peace, Estel," the elf-lord said. "No need to be in haste."
"What have you learned?" Estel asked. He had been anxious most the day, though he had successfully occupied himself from thinking about it to the enth degree.
"Sit down, and I will tell you." Elrond also moved to sit. Elladan remained by the door.
Estel took his seat back, and waited.
Elrond let the quiet be ere breaking it. "…Elrohir may have developed a secondary ailment after the rockslide in the pass."
"Secondary?"
"Some head wounds do not give instant ailments, sometimes they manifest a long time after the initial accident. It baffles me why it shows up now instead of then, given the first head trauma."
Estel bit his lip as his brows furrowed. "What…what will be done about that?"
"They will place some holes into his skull in hopes it will relieve any pressure, and drain any excess fluid that may be present."
Estel could not help but slowly grip his hair.
Elrond looked at both his sons. "It is better than to do nothing…"
"You said he will be at our family hall?" Elladan asked.
Elrond nodded.
Elladan looked at the floor. "It has been long since we have last seen that place…"
Estel tilted his head, but did not inquire.
Elladan raised his head. "How long do we wait?"
"For now," Elrond replied, "It will be a while. When the day is out and it is dark, that is when they may start."
So many ominous vibes in such an atmosphere, Estel thought…here again comes with keeping things relatively secret.
But the man wondered, if there were some who had already gotten word, and are planning ill words and feeding their own self-exaltation.
Elrohir's absence…it only would confirm it. It likely has.